On a night with a sellout crowd of 49,243, a Braves fan entered the gates of Turner Field, but left in an ambulance. On Saturday, August 29th, Gregory Murrey fell from the upper deck (Section 401) as New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez was introduced to bat during the 7th inning. Reportedly, Murrey was heckling at Rodriguez before he fell 50 feet headfirst onto the lower level sections walkway.
Image: John Bazemore/ AP
The fall took place in front of the camera in the radio box and was immediately reported by the announcer, “Someone just fell over the upper-deck right below us; oh my gosh.” Along the fall, Murrey hit some lines that were attached to the net backdrop and supposedly during the fall, he unsuccessfully tried to grab one of the lines.
Murray landed not too far from the seating of the Braves’ players’ families and fans claimed that the players’ children were close enough to have touched the body. The first to aid Murrey was Yankees catcher Brian McCann's mother, who is a nurse. A local surgeon also joined and started performing CPR until the Grady Paramedics arrived.
Despite Murrey’s unresponsiveness, the medics continued CPR for roughly 7 minutes before taking his body away. Murray was pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital and while the Atlanta Police Department suspect no foul play, they are still investigating the incident. A toxicology and autopsy have not been released yet.
"Gregory “Ace” Murrey was a husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, and friend to many. He dearly loved his family, Atlanta, and the Atlanta Braves. Greg was a season ticket holder with the same seats for 23 years. The night Greg passed away, he was doing one of his favorite things – watching the Braves. At this time, the family wishes for you to respect their privacy as they mourn the loss of such an extraordinarily wonderful man.“
During the Braves game on August 30th, the Braves lowered flags to half staff and had a moment of silence for Gregory Murrey.
Rest in Peace Gregory “Ace” Murrey. Prayers go out to his family and friends, as well as those affected in witnessing the fall.
